Mr. Yosselof was founding executive director of the university’s Center for Gaming Innovation, and held the post up until 2020. 

Dr. Mark Yoseloff, a gaming innovation icon with more than 60 patents who was the founding executive director of the Center for Gaming Innovation at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), has died at the age of 79.

Dr. Mark Yoseloff, a gaming innovation icon with more than 60 patents who was the founding executive director of the Center for Gaming Innovation at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), has died at the age of 79.

The true scope of problem gambling, however, is frustratingly difficult to quantify, largely because there is little funding for its treatment, research, and awareness efforts. The federal government dedicates virtually no resources to such work. Instead, responsibility falls to individual states, and what has emerged is a shoddy patchwork, one that is particularly stark in the state with the longest history of gambling: Nevada.

A new game has quite a journey ahead of it before it can even reach the manufacturing stage. The industry has almost entirely moved away from traditional coin-operated, reel and lever-based machines in favor of large touchscreen monitors and cashless betting, leading to a greater variety and complexity of offerings.

According to the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, the state’s sportsbooks took in almost $7.9 billion in wagers in 2024, which translated into gaming revenue of $482.1 million.